Peyton Robinson of Lisbon is The Gazette’s 2023 Female Athlete of the Year

LISBON — Everybody has their shortcomings. Even Peyton Robinson.

“She is the most uncoordinated dancer,” Blair Baltes said. “If she’s dancing at a wedding or a school dance, it makes everybody laugh.

“But she doesn’t care. She just keeps dancing.”

Asked about that minor flaw, Robinson said, “Blair must have told you that.”

She shook her head and added:

“It’s just something that doesn’t come naturally to me. My body just doesn’t flow to the music. Everybody’s laughing, and I’m laughing with them.

“I just don’t have the moves ... and I’m a pretty good athlete, right?”

Right. And not merely “pretty good.”

She will conclude a storied career at Lisbon High School with 16 letters (it would have been 17 had the COVID-19 pandemic not denied her a freshman track and field season).

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She is likely to become a four-time first-team all-state pick in softball, the sport in which she has enjoyed the most team success.

She was an all-stater twice in volleyball, the sport she loves most.

She had a solid career in basketball, the sport she considered giving up, but refused to leave her teammates behind.

She was part of a state-champion relay team in track and field, agreeing to, then embracing, a lineup switch.

So here’s to you, Peyton Robinson, The Gazette’s 2023 Female Athlete of the Year.

Lisbon’s ‘It Girl’

With Lisbon’s rich athletics history — think of all of those wrestlers, those other stars the school had produced — Robinson is the school’s first recipient of the award, male or female, in its 41-year existence.

The phrase “great (fill-in-the-blank), better person” is done to death. But with Robinson, it fits.

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So does this: “It Girl.”

Co-valedictorian. Homecoming queen. And a fierce competitor, yet defined not by her many successes, nor consumed by bitter defeats.

“She wasn’t just a generational player,” volleyball coach Lance Kamaus said. “For us, she was a generational person.”

Ask someone to put together a little-kids track meet? Call Peyton.

Need somebody to lead a Bible study for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes? Text Peyton.

How about a candidate to befriend an elementary student? Where’s Peyton?

Then at the end of a school year, finish up a 4.0 grade point average, run to track practice, zip over to softball practice, come home, write scholarship applications and make time for friends.

If you’re an “It Girl,” you get it all done, and you do it with a sunny disposition.

“We never had to worry about her,” said her father, George Robinson. “She always did what she was supposed to do. She was surrounded by great coaches and great friends.”

‘You could tell then that she had natural skills’

A state wrestling champion, George was a multi-sport athlete at Central City. So was Kristin (Edgerly) Robinson. They made their home and started their family on a wooded property about 3 miles southeast of Lisbon.

Peyton is the third of their four children. She began to stand out athletically in elementary school.

“I was substitute-teaching PE when she was in third grade, and they were running relay races,” said Bob Bunting, now in his 54th year as softball coach.

“She waxed everybody, all of the boys, everybody. You could tell then that she had natural skills.”

Said track coach Casey Baxa: “I got to work with her through speed and agility, starting in fourth or fifth grade. She always had something special, even as a little girl.”

When Robinson reached eighth grade in 2019, Bunting had a hole on the left side of his infield due to the graduation of shortstop Madelyn Morningstar.

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“Everybody wondered who was going to play shortstop, but I had a pretty good idea it was going to be Peyton,” Bunting said.

“The first doubleheader we played was against Central City. I think she had five hits, fielded 12 balls without an error.

“Nobody questioned again who we would put at shortstop.”

The next fall, Kamaus was looking for somebody to anchor the back row of his volleyball team.

“When Peyton was in junior high, you’d hear some things here and there,” Kamaus said. “Once she showed up at open gym, you knew she was going to play. It was just a matter of where.”

Robinson’s freshman track season was a COVID casualty, but she wasn’t idle during the pandemic.

“She worked out every day,” George said. “She’d do pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, run. I didn’t say a word. She just did it.

“She was self-motivated. A lot of kids weren’t, and you could see how far behind they were.”

Keeping perspective

For four years, the cycle continued. Volleyball in the fall. Basketball in the winter. Track in the spring. Softball in the summer.

Volleyball became her undisputed favorite.

“I could do volleyball 24/7,” Robinson said. “The other sports, I love during the season. But when they’re over, it’s like, ‘OK, I’m good.’”

The Lions experienced many, many victories. And a few heartbreaking defeats, including three regional finals in volleyball.

“She had her guts ripped out a couple times,” Kamaus said.

Lisbon was favored in a 2019 1A regional final against Springville, played tight and lost. It happened again in 2021, against North Tama.

“We had some nerves, and it just didn’t work out,” Robinson said. “You lose, life goes on. It has to be part of a bigger purpose.”

She found it after she got home after the Springville loss.

“I saw my Bible out in the open that night,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’ll start reading Genesis.’ It talked about how I was made in the image of God. I am thankful for everything he has given me.

“My identity isn’t found in wins or losses. I have a firm foundation, so when I go to the plate, I’m confident. If I strike out, it’s not going to make or break me.”

In victory or defeat, Robinson was a go-to quote for perspective. Always composed, even if her heart was breaking.

“She never cried once, not that I saw anyway,” George said.

Robinson didn’t need a state championship to cement her Lisbon legacy. But it came anyway, in May, a Class 1A 400-meter relay title.

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There’s a story behind that.

“Before (the) Drake (Relays), I noticed that I was slowing down at the finish,” said Robinson, who had been the anchor. “I told Baxa, but we thought it would get better.”

It didn’t, until Baxa made a change. He started Robinson out of the blocks, and anchored Addy Happel.

“I thought Addy would finish a little better,” Baxa said.

Robinson said, “I trusted Coach, so we made the switch. I had run the 100, so I knew how to do the blocks.

“We got to state, and we just wanted to stay calm and run our race. Winning it, it was a moment I’ll always remember.”

The outcome moved Baxa. So did the aftermath.

“In a (media) interview, Peyton mentioned the switch and said, ‘We trusted each other,’” Baxa said. “When I heard it, I thought, ‘Yes, she gets it.’”

Basketball was merely something to do in the winter, because Robinson wasn’t a fan of the sport’s physical nature (“Some people get rough and nasty,” she said). She could have been a force in wrestling, but, well, that’s physical and rough, too.

On the other hand, she cherished the annual homecoming-week Powder Puff flag football game. With her speed, she was a touchdown threat on any play.

“We were playing the older girls, and I wanted to show them,” she said. “I’d get the ball and juke ‘em out.

“Plus, it was always good standing out in front of the boys.”

Next: Volleyball at Wartburg

Robinson attracted some Division-I interest in both softball and volleyball. But the small-town girl jumped at a chance to maintain the small-school vibe; she’ll play volleyball at Wartburg College in Waverly.

“The first thing, we’re excited about the person and teammate that she is,” Wartburg co-head coach Doug Frazell said. “During the recruiting process, we watch how they interact with their coaches, their parents, their teammates.”

She aced that.

“I think she can be a really, really good back-row defender,” Frazell added. “She makes plays a lot of players can’t, the way she closes and gets to the ball.”

Once she gets to Waverly, Robinson will do what she has always done. She will listen. She will compete. She will lead.

And she will dance, somewhat awkwardly, whether somebody is watching or not.

“She’ll do well, but I don’t think volleyball is going to be the whole story for her,” Kamaus said. “She’s going to do something that impacts a ton of people.”

That’s what an “It Girl” does. She magnetizes. She galvanizes. And she blazes a trail.

“She’ll have a lasting impact on Lisbon,” Baltes said. “Her morals and values ... people will remember Peyton for her athletic ability, but she’s so much more.”

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Peyton Elizabeth Robinson

School: Lisbon High School

Birthdate: June 24, 2004

Family: Parents, George and Kristin Robinson; sister, Brooke; brothers, Hunter and Luke

High school accomplishments: On track to become a five-time softball all-stater and play in five state tournaments in that sport. She was a second-team selection as an eighth-grader, a first-teamer every year since. A .465 career hitter prior to her senior year. Second-team all-state (1A) in volleyball as a junior, third-team (2A) as a senior. Finished her career with 1,822 digs and 1,076 kills. A seven-time state place-winner in track, capped by a 1A 400-meter relay title in May. Scored 713 career points in basketball. Would have finished with 17 varsity letters had 2020 track season not been erased due to COVID-19.

College: Will play volleyball at Wartburg College. Plans to major in business and minor in sports management.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com